Te’o to Couric: I Didn’t Lie Until December

In an interview with ABC’s Katie Couric that will run in its entirety on her eponymous talk show, “Katie,” on Thursday, Manti Te’o says he didn’t lie about the fake girlfriend hoax until December, when he continued to talk about Kekua publicly despite knowing she was fake.

“I get a phone call on Dec. 6, saying that she’s alive and then I’m going be put on national TV two days later,” Te’o told Couric in a clip that ran on “Good Morning America” on Wednesday. “And to ask me about the same question. You know, what would you do?”

A report that ran in Wednesday’s New York Daily News validates Te’o’s claims that he truly thought Kekua had died in September. The newspaper obtained a receipt from 1-800-FLOWERS.com of flowers Te’o sent on Sept. 12 — the reported day of Kekua’s death — to a “Kainoa Kekua,” with a personal note from Te’o included.

Tune in to ABC on Thursday to hear what else the former Notre Dame linebacker has to say.